Last week featured a very special on-location episode with Amskapi Piikani Blackfeet elder, and founder of the Piikani Lodge Health Institute, Long Time Charging Woman Kim Paul. That was our first day together, visiting some of the places Kim holds most dear on spectacular Blackfeet Country in current day northern Montana, all while sharing some breathtaking stories about her life and work.

We left off that episode hearing the story of how Piikani Lodge came to be, and the support that started to serendipitously kick in. Back at the house that night, Andrew Berger turned up. He’s the Director of Agriculture and Climate Adaptation Programs at Piikani Lodge.

Based in Baltimore, he’s a landscape architect who cut his teeth in New Mexico on water rights and planning, which fortuidously led him to Piikani Lodge in its relatively early days. And he’s found himself pivotal to the big vision Kim talked about last time, on their latest reacquired land, while he also works with that increasing number (almost half of them so far) of the landholders and farmers improving their land management and production.

So the next day, Kim and Andrew kindly offered to take us out to the sacred sentinel that is Chief Mountain. Which was also where the closing scenes to the new award-winning documentary I talked about last week, Bring Them Home, were filmed, as buffalo were returned to the wild for the first time in over a century.

So join me as I climb in with Andrew to hear how he’s seeing this country, the work of Piikani Lodge, and his role in it all. We’re to meet up with Kim at Chief Mountain. And the day goes on to culminate with an unforgettable wild encounter, while it starts with an heroic story, and more breaking news, straight out of the gate.

Chapter markers & transcript.

Recorded 11 July 2025.

Title image: Andrew, Kim & AJ by the Medicine Wheel (pic: Olivia Cheng).

See more photos on the episode web page, and for more behind the scenes become a supporting listener below.

Btw, at the last location in this ep, it was Pearl Jam’s bassist.

Music:

Flight of the Inner Bird, by Yehezkel Raz feat. Sivan Talmor (from Artlist).

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden.

The RegenNarration playlist, music chosen by guests.

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Or donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

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Thanks for your support!

Last week's episode featured a special on-location recording with Amskapi Piikani Blackfeet elder, and founder of the Piikani Lodge Health Institute, Long Time Charging Woman Kim Paul. Again, given it was two and a half hours in length, I also wanted to offer it in distinct parts, for those of you who prefer to listen to it that way.

In this case, two parts presented themselves neatly. Part one was released earlier this week. And part two here extends from the big shifts Kim sees happening, through to the serendipitous and unlikely story of how Piikani Lodge came to be, along with an invitation to all.

Weaved through all that is a brilliant new program for youth, the place of animals, hunting meat in their culture, the huge Powwow, hopes for co-management of Glacier National Park, recovering Piikani names, more transformational tales, including a pivotal workshop with Robin Wall Kimmerer, the drive for the next infrastructure to leverage positive change, culture as (preventative) medicine, and visits to some of the places Kim holds most dear, here on spectacular Blackfeet Country in current day northern Montana.

If you’d prefer to listen to the whole episode straight, head to ‘Culture as Medicine: Long Time Charging Woman Kim Paul at Amskapi Piikani Blackfeet Nation’.

Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this. And thanks for listening.

Chapter markers & transcript.

Recorded 10 July 2025.

See some photos on the full episode web page, and for more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener below.

More on the campaign Mika Matters.

Music:

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden.

The RegenNarration playlist, music chosen by guests.

Send us a text

Support the show

The RegenNarration podcast is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. We'd love you to join us.

Become a paid subscriber to connect with your host, other listeners and exclusive benefits, on Patreon or the new Substack.

Or donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

While you can also visit The RegenNarration shop. Come to an event. And please do share, rate and review the podcast.

Thanks for your support!

Last week's episode featured a special on-location recording with Amskapi Piikani Blackfeet elder, and founder of the Piikani Lodge Health Institute, Long Time Charging Woman Kim Paul. Again, given it was two and a half hours in length, I also wanted to offer it in distinct parts, for those of you who prefer to listen to it that way.

In this case, two parts presented themselves neatly. In fact, when producing the full episode, I had to stop after an hour and a bit to absorb all that had been shared to that point, especially the last 15 minutes of gripping story there (from which the title to part one here is drawn).

So, part one here extends from my intro (with music Into Thin Air by Hans Johnson), through to that story. Including breaking news of their latest reacquired land and the big vision unfolding there, the extraordinary regenerative agriculture resurgence across the Nation (including the return of the buffalo), broader food sovereignty and enterprise moves, compelling traditional diet research, Kim’s personal stories of her tribal naming and mysterious encounters, a bigger lens to bring to the troubles of today, and of course along the way, we were treated to the spectacular vistas and stories of this breathtaking part of the world in current day northern Montana.

If you’d prefer to listen to the whole episode straight, head to ‘Culture as Medicine: Long Time Charging Woman Kim Paul at Amskapi Piikani Blackfeet Nation’.

Otherwise, I hope you enjoy this, and stay tuned in a few days for part two.

Chapter markers & transcript.

Recorded 10 July 2025.

Title image: Kim sharing the gripping story towards the end of part one that gives it its title (pic: Olivia Cheng). (Yes, this was all so impromptu, the phone was the unintended recorder - though I did have my wireless lapel mic's to plug in when outside in the wind thankfully.)

See more photos on the full episode web page, and for more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener below.

More on the campaign Mika Matters.

The RegenNarration playlist, music chosen by guests.

Send us a text

Support the show

The RegenNarration podcast is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. We'd love you to join us.

Become a paid subscriber to connect with your host, other listeners and exclusive benefits, on Patreon or the new Substack.

Or donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

While you can also visit The RegenNarration shop. Come to an event. And please do share, rate and review the podcast.

Thanks for your support!

Today, an extremely special episode. After we left the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative in Wyoming, but before we reached Paul Hawken back in California, there was one more stop we had to make. Or so we thought. For having made it to the Old Salt Festival (podcast about back in Montana last year), we met a special guest speaker there, Miisami Sapai yi Aki / Long Time Charging Woman, Kim Paul, an elder of Amskapi Piikani Blackfeet Nation.

Kim is founder and ED of Piikani Lodge Health Institute. I already knew about some of its brilliant work, having read Liz Carlisle’s profound book Healing Grounds: Climate, Justice, and the Deep Roots of Regenerative Farming. And then I’d seen the impressive Latrice Tatsey (who featured in Liz’s book) present at the Regenerate Conference in Denver last November, which was also where the extraordinary documentary film Bring Them Home, on the Blackfeet buffalo restoration, was screened.

Those resurgent Blackfeet stories had felt like they were constant accompaniment on our journey. So I’d lightly wondered if we might end up visiting them and their spectacular country in the far north of Montana (historically and essentially still including current day Glacier National Park). Alas, it looked like it wasn’t going to happen. But then, Kim - this high school drop-out, now with multiple degrees, who carries the Siyeh Ksisk Staki creation bundle and pipes, and was transferred the rights to wear the traditional stand up warbonnet. We met after her presentation at the festival, and she warmly invited us to visit as they approached their Powwow in July.

We pick up our time together with Kim at the Nation’s latest reacquired land, where Piikani Lodge has a big dream unfolding.

Chapter markers & transcript.

Recorded 10 July 2025.

For more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener below.

Mika Matters.

Music:

Into Thin Air, by Hans Johnson (from Artlist).

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden.

The RegenNarration playlist, mus

Send us a text

Support the show

The RegenNarration podcast is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. We'd love you to join us.

Become a paid subscriber to connect with your host, other listeners and exclusive benefits, on Patreon or the new Substack.

Or donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

While you can also visit The RegenNarration shop. Come to an event. And please do share, rate and review the podcast.

Thanks for your support!

Tim Winton is regarded by many as the preeminent Australian writer of his generation. His awards could almost fill a book themselves now. And he’s come to Boorloo / Perth today to launch his first picture book in more than 20 years, and the first non-fiction picture book for children about Ningaloo reef, the world heritage treasure a thousand kilometres and some north of us here. It’s called Ningaloo: Australia’s Wild Wonder, spectacularly illustrated by award-winning Perth local Cindy Lane. And as it happens, it launches at the best and worst of times up at the reef.

Join me at the legendary local independent publisher Fremantle Press, for a chat with Tim about it all.

And if you happen to be in Perth ... ‘Ningaloo: Australia’s Wild Wonder’ will be launched in Perth tonight with the founder of the Telethon Kids Institute, former Australian of the Year, and Australian Living Treasure, epidemiologist Professor Fiona Stanley.

The book can be pre-ordered now, and will be in stores from the first week of October.

And if you happen to feel like hearing more of Tim and I in conversation, head to episode 162 on the extraordinary documentary about Ningaloo that Tim spearheaded a couple of years ago, and maybe even episode 17, way back in the beginning, just after the launch of the feature film adapted from his book Breath.

Chapter markers & transcript.

Recorded 24 September 2025.

Title image: the book cover (supplied).

For more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener below.

Music:

Regeneration, by Amelia Barden.

The RegenNarration playlist, music chosen by guests.

Send us a text

Support the show

The RegenNarration podcast is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. We'd love you to join us.

Become a paid subscriber to connect with your host, other listeners and exclusive benefits, on Patreon or the new Substack.

Or donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

While you can also visit The RegenNarration shop. Come to an event. And please do share, rate and review the podcast.

Thanks for your support!

This still feels like the funniest story told on the podcast over its eight and some years now. And right up there among the most moving too. I still laugh out loud when I think about the end of my yarn with Tyson Yunkaporta back in episode 70, when I asked him about his music story. And the emotions that surged in a touchstone moment just prior to that have been the subject of many a chat since. Funnily enough, I couldn’t actually remember that one followed the other. So here’s the last 15 minutes or so of my time with Tyson for episode 70 back in 2020.

Welcome to the 9th instalment of Vignettes from the Source, the new short form series featuring some of the unforgettable, transformative and often inexplicable moments my guests have shared over the years. Indeed, this one hits all three of those marks, and was front of mind when deciding to create this series.

Tyson belongs to the Apalech Clan from Western Cape York in far north Queensland, with community/cultural ties all over Australia. He is the author multiple books, including Sand Talk: How Indigenous Thinking Can Save the World. He’s also a poet and artist carving traditional tools and weapons, processes that were central to writing the book.

If you’d like to hear or revisit this conversation in full, head to episode 70 – ‘Sand Talk: Indigenous thinking, saving the world & living creation’ (there are a bunch of links in those show notes too, and a very special photo from this conversation on that episode website).

Right now, we’re in the thick of the unprecedented series of international events that have gravitated together between Perth, the wheatbelt and Bridgetown here in WA. I’ll look forward to sharing some of what happens with you all afterwards, especially for those who can’t get here. For now, I hope you enjoy revisiting this one with Tyson.

Chapter markers & transcript.

Originally recorded 13 August 2020, and released 14 September 2025.

Title image supplied.

For more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener via the links below.

Music:

Stones & Bones, by Owls of the Swamp.

The RegenNarration playlist, music chosen by guests.

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Support the show

The RegenNarration podcast is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. We'd love you to join us.

Become a paid subscriber to connect with your host, other listeners and exclusive benefits, on Patreon or the new Substack.

Or donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

While you can also visit The RegenNarration shop. Come to an event. And please do share, rate and review the podcast.

Thanks for your support!

We’re just days away now from what’s been loosely dubbed ‘Regen Week’ over here in WA, an unprecedented series of international events that have gravitated together between Perth, the wheatbelt and Bridgetown. I’ll look forward to sharing some of what happens with you all afterwards, especially for those who can’t get here. Right now, though, on the back of last week’s episode focused on the centrepiece of the week, RegenWA’s major conference at Perth Stadium, it felt irresistible to release this excerpt in anticipation of the climax to the week – the first Grounded Festival in WA.

Welcome to the 8th instalment of Vignettes from the Source, the new short form series featuring some of the unforgettable, transformative and often inexplicable moments my guests have shared over the years.

This vignette is drawn from the conversation I had with farmer, author and founder of Grounded, Matthew Evans, and his partner, farmer and teacher, Sadie Chrestman, just after the very first Grounded had been staged at their place, Fat Pig Farm, in Tasmania last December. We pick it up with Matthew a little over ten minutes in, before Sadie joins us five minutes later.

It was raw, fun, and so endearingly candid. Unforgettable, really. So, on the cusp of the next edition of the festival, here’s 15 minutes with Matthew and Sadie – followed by five minutes of extraordinary music alongside a story about how it played out at that first festival.

If you’d like to hear or revisit this conversation in full, head to episode 247 – ‘Celebrating Grounded Festival: Behind the scenes’ (there are a bunch of links in those show notes too, and a very special photo from this conversation on that episode website).

Chapter markers & transcript.

Originally recorded 18 December 2024, and released 5 February 2025.

Title image sourced here.

For more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener via the links below.

Music:

My Mother, The Mountain, by Claire Anne Taylor.

The RegenNarration playlist, music chosen by guests.

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Support the show

The RegenNarration podcast is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. We'd love you to join us.

Become a paid subscriber to connect with your host, other listeners and exclusive benefits, on Patreon or the new Substack.

Or donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

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Thanks for your support!

It’s fitting that my first Aussie guest back home would be this bloke. Stuart McAlpine is a multiple award winning wheatbelt farmer over here in WA, who’s just been named as a finalist in the prestigious national Bob Hawke LandCare Award. I’ve long looked forward to having him on the podcast, having met him as part of the group that organised the first major RegenWA conference staged at Perth Stadium back in 2019 (it was my honour to be MC for that group of people). Six years on, we’re on the cusp of RegenWA’s second major conference (Regenerating Food Systems), back at Perth Stadium, and I couldn’t have said ‘yes, I’ll be home for this’ quick enough, when invited to be MC again.

This time around, the conference will feature two days not one, and a full week of satellite events have spontaneously gravitated to its orbit. And this time, RegenWA is running its conference having become an independent not for profit organisation, with Stuart as its inaugural Chair. He’s also been a paid subscriber of this podcast for nearly four years, so you can imagine how humbling that is.

Ideally, of course, we’d be at the farm. But given we’ve just got home from a big journey with the pod, and given the conference, satellite events and award announcement are just a couple of weeks away now, we thought we’d jump online for a quick yarn to help gear up for this potentially pivotal moment in time.

Chapter markers & transcript.

Recorded 2 September 2025.

Title image from RegenWA's website.

For more behind the scenes, become a supporting listener below.

Upcoming events.

Music:

Against All Odds, by Tiko Tiko (sourced from Artlist).

Country Cousins, by Stuart McAlpine.

The RegenNarration playlist, music chosen by guests.

Send us a text

Support the show

The RegenNarration podcast is independent, ad-free and freely available, thanks to the generous support of listeners like you. We'd love you to join us.

Become a paid subscriber to connect with your host, other listeners and exclusive benefits, on Patreon or the new Substack.

Or donate directly via the website (avoiding fees) or PayPal.

While you can also visit The RegenNarration shop. Come to an event. And please do share, rate and review the podcast.

Thanks for your support!